Association Executives News

Association Executive News - February 2018

January 2018 statewide housing market report and video available on NYSAR.comIn addition to the 10K local report you received from either NYSAR or directly from 10K, the January 2018 statewide housing market report is available on NYSAR.com. The full statewide reports are available to NYSAR members only.

Also available on NYSAR.com is “The Skinny,” a video highlighting our current statewide housing market conditions. Please encourage your members to share this video with consumers to help them understand the Empire State’s housing market. Click here for the NYSAR.com Housing Statistics page.

2018 NYSAR Leadership Team takes office during Mid-Winter Business Meetings
NYSAR 2018 President CJ DelVecchio, President-elect Moses Seuram and Secretary/Treasurer Jennifer Stevenson took the oath of office during the inaugural dinner held on Monday, Feb. 5, during the association’s Mid-Winter Business Meetings at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY.

In addition to the inauguration, a full slate of committee meetings took place. The General Session presentation included NYSAR President CJ DelVecchio’s State of the Association address and attendees heard from keynote speaker Mike Weber on changing how you think. Additionally, the 2017 Community Service Award and the 2017 Lawrence B. Caldwell RPAC Service Award winners were recognized. The RPAC of New York Hall of Fame also welcomed four new members.

Visit NYSAR.com in the coming weeks for meeting minutes and videos from the General Session and highlighted presentations.

REALTOR Lobby Day in Albany is on Tuesday, March 20
NYSAR’s annual Lobby Day is Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in the Albany Empire State Plaza (Meeting Rooms 1-5) and begins at 8 a.m. Breakfast, lunch, lobbying orientation and lobbying materials will be provided. Book your hotel room at the Hampton Inn & Suites in downtown Albany.

NYSAR will reimburse individual members up to $150 for travel and lodging expenses. Please call Jared Burns at 518-463-0300 ext. 235 or Leanne Little at ext. 217 with any questions.

HGAR and LIBOR prepare groundwork for new regional MLS for New York Metro area
The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS (HGAR) and the Long Island Board of REALTORS (LIBOR) have recently agreed on the framework for forming a new multiple listing service (MLS) to serve the New York metro area including: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties, as well as the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. The newly formed regional MLS would consist of approximately 36,000 REALTOR subscribers. Learn more.
Did you miss last week’s Legal Leftovers webinar?
The recording of NYSAR’s Legal Leftovers webinar presented by NYSAR Director of Legal Services Anthony Gatto, Esq. is now available in the Media Center at NYSAR.com. This webinar was a follow-up to the Legal Update that was presented during the Mid-Winter Business Meetings.

Encourage your members to register for March’s ‘Proactive Safety for REALTORS’ webinar
Join NYSAR for a live demonstration of Member Perks partner FOREWARN, the first proactive safety and intelligence solution of its kind, on Thursday, March 15, at 2:30 p.m. Your members can learn how they can have more productive and safer interactions with prospects, and how to leverage this revolutionary technology to help win more listing presentations and potentially safeguard their customers’ homes and families. Register today!

Rockland County Legislature passes coop transparency bill
The Rockland County Legislature passed a bill in a 16-0 vote that would change the coop approval process by requiring housing coop boards to respond to a prospective buyer’s completed application within 45 days and provide a reason for rejection. The bill has been sent to County Executive Ed Day for his consideration. Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS’ President Barry Kramer’s interview on the topic can be found here.

Department of State proposes new cease and desist zone in Rockland County
The NYS Department of State published in the State Register a proposal to establish a new cease and desist zone for the Village of Chestnut Ridge in Rockland County. A public hearing was held on September 21, 2016 in Rockland County to listen to concerns of repeated solicitations by members of the public. NYSAR staff attended this hearing and submitted formal testimony in opposition to cease and desist zones, along with area REALTORS. The Department of State’s proposed rule would go in effect on July 1, 2018. Public comment on this proposed rule is open until April 16, 2018. Read the proposed rule here.

House passes NAR-backed ADA Education and Reform Act
The U.S. House of Reps. passed HR 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act, by a vote of 225-192. NAR strongly supports this bill, and ahead of the vote issued a targeted Call for Action to commercial practitioners in support of the bill. NAR will advance its focus on companion legislation in the Senate. HR 620 is a bipartisan bill that adds a crucial "notice-and-cure" period to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), giving business owners accused of a violation the opportunity to fix it before a costly legal process begins. In recent years, a small group of attorneys have taken advantage of the ADA's lack of a notice requirement and filed lawsuits indiscriminately against commercial property owners under the ADA. For more information on this issue, see the NAR Issue Summary here, and NAR's letter of support for the bill here.

Cuomo releases 30-day amendments to Executive Budget
Gov. Andrew Cuomo released amendments to his Executive Budget proposal before the 30-day deadline by which budget bills can be amended. The amendments include language that would decouple the state’s tax code with tax provisions of the Federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act, create an optional payroll tax where employees could receive a credit against their state income tax liability for the amount of payroll tax assessed on their wages, and create new charitable contribution funds for health care and education and give taxpayers an 85 percent non-refundable state income tax credit against their donation. Read more on the tax change proposals here. An outline for congestion pricing in NYC was also included in Gov. Cuomo’s amendments here.

Don’t miss out – “Like” us on Facebook!
NYSAR has officially made the switch to a Facebook Fan Page and closed our previous group page.
Head to Facebook.com/NewYorkStateAssociationofREALTORS and click the "Like" button so you can stay up-to-date with the latest association and industry news, network with your fellow members, find out about special discounts from our Member Perk partners, learn about upcoming events, and more!

RPAC Caldwell Awards presented during the NYSAR Mid-Winter Business Meetings
Congratulations to Lawrence B. Caldwell RPAC Service Award recipients Nancy Kennedy, from the Hudson Gateway Association, and Sari Kingsley, from the Staten Island Board. Both members were recognized with RPAC of New York’s highest honor in gratitude of their outstanding, generous and continuous support of RPAC.

RPAC VIP Lounge a record success
The RPAC VIP Lounge raised an unprecedented $31,500 for RPAC through ticket sales and silent auction proceeds during the NYSAR Mid-Winter Business Meetings. Thank you to the nearly 120 members who attended the lounge and made for another successful event in support of RPAC. The lounge featured manicures, massages, psychic readings, a character sketch artist and more.

RPAC of New York Hall of Fame welcomes four new members!
RPAC of New York inducted four new members into the Hall of Fame in recognition of their lifetime support of RPAC in excess of $15,000. Congratulations to Katheryn DeClerck (Hudson Gateway), Carol Gallo-Turschmann (Long Island), Michael Smith (Greater Rochester) and Merle Whitehead (Buffalo Niagara). Thank you all for leading by example with your continuous support of RPAC.

Contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes. Contributions to RPAC are voluntary and are used for political purposes. You may contribute more or less than the suggested amount. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal and the National Association of REALTORS, the New York State Association of REALTORS or any of its local boards or associations will not favor or disfavor any member because of the amount contributed. 70 percent of each contribution is used by your state PAC to support state and local political candidates. Until your NYSAR PAC reaches its PAC goal 30 percent is sent to National RPAC to support federal candidates and is charged against your limits under 2 U.S.C. 441a; after NYSAR PAC reaches its RPAC goal it may elect to retain your entire contribution for use in supporting state and local candidates.

Featured Content

The January/February digital edition of New York State REALTOR is now available!

Meet your 2018 NYSAR Leadership Team; get tips on how to be a digital marketing star; learn how to determine if you need an agricultural district disclosure; and much more! Click hereto read the latest issue.